Haven't Changed A Bit
by mistymidnight
Summary: Anya is reverted to her former-self…that is, herself at age six. Response to a challenge from gidgetgirl.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13 (for Anya's sex-talk)

**Disclaimer: **Joss and company own the canon. Gidgetgirl owns the plot, pretty much.

**Timeline/Spoilers: **Hmm. Season seven, especially "Selfless".

**Summary: **Anya is reverted to her former-self…that is, herself at age six.

**Author's Notes: **Challenge from gidgetgirl, as posted at Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

**The Challenge**

After she loses her vengeance demon status, Anya (who really should know better) makes a wish that things would just go back like they were, and one of her old vengeance demon rivals takes the wish and grants it by turning Anya into a small child.  
  
**Options:**  
The small child may or may not have vengeance demon powers, ie she may or may not be able to grant wishes.  
  
**Requirements:**  
Anya must still speak literally and must still talk about sex.  
  
Someone bribing little Anya to do something.  
  
A lemonade stand.  
  
Anya throwing a temper tantrum in a pet store.  
  
Someone putting Anya's hair in pigtails.  
  
**Bonus:**  
Anya promising to take vengeance on someone who puts her in a time out.

For story purposes, this takes place after Anya lost her powers for the _second_ time, in season seven. I haven't seen "Selfless" as of yet, so please forgive and shoddy canon placement.

**Prologue**

"Anya, you can't just sit here all the time," Dawn Summers insisted. "Get out and do something. Give back to the community."

Anya didn't answer.

"C'mon," Dawn tried again. "You're not the mopey type."

"I can be if I want to," Anya mumbled flatly.

Dawn stomped her foot like a six-year-old. "Anya! We all know you lost Halfrek! We're sorry! But you have to move on! She wouldn't want you to sit here moping."

"You're right," Anya muttered.

"I am?" Dawn sounded surprised.

"She's a vengeance demon, Dawn. What do you _think_ she wants me to be doing? Use your imagination."

"Oh, uh, do I have to?"

"No," Anya sighed. "I'll do it for you. Boils, blinding torment, hot pincers, drowning in hot lava, locked in a room with Spice Girls songs blaring. And I probably deserve it."

Dawn snapped. "Fine. Stay here and mope."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Hit me," Anya commanded. The Bronze's bartender slid another drink her way. It clinked against the other glasses still sitting in front of Anya. "Thanks, amigo." She giggled a little and snorted. "I wish, I wish…" Anya stopped herself. Drunken or not, even _she_ knew better than to sing "I wish, I wish I was a fish" in public, where anyone could overhear and take her seriously. _If I'm gonna make a wish, I'd better wish for something good._ In her drunken stupor, this logic made total sense. Wishes weren't bad. Wishes were good. Good.

"I wish—" Anya said.

"Anya?" Buffy asked, walking up behind her. "Are you okay?"

"I wish—" Anya said again.

"No!" Buffy said. "Anya, stop! Don't wish! Do. Not. Wish!"

"I wish thingswerethewaytheyusedtobe," Anya slurred out.

Down the bar, someone mumbled, "Wish granted."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"…don't know what to do about it. What are we supposed to do?" Anya heard a voice speaking. She kept her eyes closed to see how much eavesdropping she could do before everyone caught on.

"Dunno. Spell, Will?"

Anya could keep still no longer. "Spell?" she squealed. "I can spell!"

The Scooby Gang turned around to see a bright-eyed, brown-haired little girl staring at them.

"So brown _is_ her natural color," Willow mumbled.

"Hello, people!" Anya chirped. "Who are you?"

"Oh. Um…Anya?"

"That's me!" Anya confirmed, smiling angelically.

"Okay. Um, I'm Willow, this is Xander, and this is Buffy."

"Excellent," Little Anya beamed. "Do you have sex?"

There was a moment of awkward silence in which the Scoobies shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Well," the little girl asked. "Do you?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay probably not the greatest chapter I've ever written, but this I my first throwback fic, and also my first challenge response. It'll get better, I promise.

mistymidnight


	2. The Beginning of the Trouble

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13 (for Anya's sex-talk)

**Disclaimer: **What should this disclaimer contain?

a.) The author explaining she is in no way affiliated with Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, BtVS, etc. and does not own the characters, etc.

b.) The author crediting gidgetgirl for the plot.

c.) The author claiming everything else as her own.

d.) The author making a desperate pun or joke to cover up the fact that the disclaimer is a boring, if necessary, piece of fanfic.

e.) All of the above.

See end of chapter for the answer!!!

**Timeline/Spoilers: **Same as the last chapter, up to season seven's "Selfless".

**Summary: **Anya I reverted to her former self…that is, herself at age six.

**Author's Notes: **Challenge response…no! Don't run away yet! …from gidgetgirl. An Anya throwback. Click on over to the previous chapter to read the options, requirements, and basic plot for the challenge.

Picks up exactly where the last chapter left off.

**The Beginning of the Trouble**

"No." Buffy said to the smiling little brunette. "We do not."

Anya's smile dropped off her face like ice cream falling off a cone. "Well," she said. "You must be very boring adults. Adults should have—"

"Anya!" Willow interrupted. "Why don't you watch some cartoons?" She pointed to the television. Anya realized she was in a living room.

"Okay!" she said. Willow promptly turned the television on and Anya settled down with the remote control in hand. Buffy, Willow, and Xander made their way to the kitchen as unobtrusively as possible.

"What are we going to do about it?" Xander asked. "We can't leave her like that!"

"Think of it, though," Willow said, rather dreamily. "Big Anya versus Little Anya. One, Little Anya is more easily distracted from sex talk. Two, we can punish Little Anya when she…" She trailed off under Xander's glare. "I'm not suggesting that we keep her this way or anything," she mumbled.

Xander turned to Buffy. "You were there when she…when this happened. What was going on?"

"She was drunk," Buffy began.

"Oh! I know this one!" Willow exclaimed. "Bad beer! Instead of devolving her into a cave-Anya, it made her into child-Anya."

"I don't think so, Will," Buffy said. "She made a wish that thing were 'the way they were before' or something like that. And then—poof."

"So we're thinking spell?" Xander asked.

"Probably," Buffy agreed. "Vengeance demon, probably, seeing as she wished it. God, you'd think she'd know better by now."

"Well, I'm just glad she didn't do something horrible to all of us, like turn our significant others into snakes or something."

"That was a worm," Buffy corrected.

Willow looked confused.

"Long story," Buffy muttered.

Xander, meanwhile, was looking rather nervous. "She didn't wish for anything else, did she?" he asked. "There was no 'I wish things were like they were before _and_…'?"

"Nope," Buffy replied. "I believe she was too busy going bach in age. Time. Whatever."

From the other room, the TV blared, "Silly Rabbit! Trix are for kids!"

"Anya, turn it down!" Buffy shouted. The volume of the TV went down, but only slightly.

"It's still the same Anya, all right," Buffy remarked, sitting at the kitchen counter.

Suddenly the back door burst open and Dan came rushing in. "Hey, guys!" she said excitedly. "You'll never guess what…" She stopped, looking around the room at the worried faces. "What's going on?"

"Anya's a little kid," Willow said.

Dawn scrunched her eyebrows together. "Uh, Willow, Anya's over a thousand years old, last time I checked."

"No," Willow rushed to clarify. "A spell made Anya a little girl."

"No way!" Dawn said. "Weird."  
"Speaking of Anya, could you go keep an eye on her?" Buffy asked. "She's watching cartoons in the other room."

Dawn walked to the living room, stuck her head in, and announced, "Was."

"What do you mean, 'was'?" Buffy asked.

"She _was_ watching cartoons. She's not in here any more," Dawn reported.

The Scoobies looked at each other and all said simultaneously:

"Uh oh."

* * *

Another chapter done. 

I was trying something new: an interactive disclaimer.

The answer is E: All of the above.

Oh, and the link to Chaocolate Covered Strawberries (where I picked up this challenge) can be found in my user profile.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. And John, you don't need to remind me that you're taller. I see you often enough to remember on my own. =)

mistymidnight


	3. Pigtails Are For Pigs

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13 (for Anya's sex talk, once again.)

**Disclaimer: **I have been told to write one disclaimer and use it in all my stories, but I don't really feel like it. Joss owns. gidgetgirl owns. mistymidnight does not own.

**Timeline/Spoilers: **Up to "Selfless", in season seven.

**Summary: **Anya is reverted to her former self…that is, herself at age six.

**Author's Notes: **Challenge, gidgetgirl, blah, blah, blah. Sorry about the ton of mistakes in the last chapter. It was written quickly and I'm altogether too lazy at the moment to go back and fix it. I know that Dawn's name isn't Dan. Really.

**Pigtails are for Pigs**

"Anya's gone?" Xander asked.

"I though I covered that," Dawn muttered.

"She was using the cartoon noise as a cover," Willow remarked. "Not bad, for a six-year-old."

"Not bad?!" Xander demanded. "_Very _bad. There's a six-year-old horror out running around Sunnydale somewhere with vamp—"

"BOO!" screeched a little voice behind them. Everyone jumped, even Anya, because she was startled by so many grownups jumping at once. It reminded her of sex. Everything reminded her of sex.

"Anya! Don't ever do that again!"

Anya chewed on a little fingernail. "Are you mad at me, guy? You're a sexy guy."

Coming from a six-year-old, this greatly disturbed Xander. He knelt down to Anya's height. "An, let's not talk about sex, okay?"

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because it's not polite."

"Why?"

"It just isn't."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Why?"

Xander gave up and pulled out his wallet. He fished around until he found a five dollar bill. He held it in front of Anya, who made a grab for it. Xander pulled it out of her reach. "Five dollars if you don't talk about sex anymore."

"Make it ten and you've got a deal," Anya said, still jumping to try to reach the money."

"How about…" Xander checked his wallet. "Seven?"

"Seven?" Anya scoffed. "Ten."

Xander frowned at the little girl who was quickly getting on his nerves. "Seven is my final offer."

Anya folded her arms across her chest in a gesture of stubbornness and chanted, "Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex."

"Fine," Xander crumbled. "Ten."

"Okay," Anya said. "Thank you." She tucked the money into her shoe. As she bent down, her brown hair fell in her face, giving her a mouthful of hair. It was unpleasant.

"Yuck," she said, spitting it out. "Pthhft. Hair."

"Here," Dawn said. "I'll get it out of your way. I'll put it in pigtails. Oh, you're gonna look so cute—"

"Silly person," Anya interrupted. "Pigtails are for pigs!"

"Isn't it 'Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids'?" Willow inquired.

As soon as the second word left her mouth, Anya wailed, "Stoooooppp! No rabbits!!!"

Dawn knelt down. "Anya, why don't you like rabbits?" she asked.

"They're…" Anya dropped her voice to whisper. "…evil."

"Are not," Dawn disagreed.

"Are too," Anya said. "Times infinity. So there."

Dawn glared at the six year old for having a better argument than she did.

"Well," Buffy said. "It's getting late, and some people should be in bed."

Anya waved to Dawn. "Good night, person."

"She's talking about you, munchkin," Dawn said flatly.

"Oh! Me!" Anya said. "I like beds. Beds are where—" she looked at Xander and then at her shoe. "—you sleep," she finished lamely.

"Glad you think that way," Buffy said. "'Cause that's where you're going. Right. Now."

* * *

mistymidnight


	4. A Money Making Venture

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Haven't you figured it out by now?!

**Spoilers/Timeline: **" "

**Summary: **Anya. Six. Wish. Challenge. Gidgetgirl.

**Author's Notes: **This is to tide me over, until all my favorite fics are updated. (If you wanna do me a gigantiforous favor, check out my favorites list and go review the stories there. Hopefully this will inspire the writers to update soon. Note that the favorites list is not Spuffy-friendly. (I'm not a Spike-basher, though.) BA all the way!

I'm caught up in the search for a fic I read years ago and never bookmarked. Too bad. I loved it. See my website to see if you can help me find it.

Did you know that my website is fixed? If you were trying to view it in a browser using Mozilla, America Online, etc. and couldn't access my main page, it's all fixed now. Try, try again.

**A Money-Making Venture**

Buffy opened her eyes groggily and felt a presence in the room with her. Groaning, she reached up to pull the hair out of her face…

"GOOD MORNING!" an unrealistically high-pitched voice screamed in her ear. It was like a foghorn was stationed on Buffy's nightstand.

Buffy made a sort of "Squeeekriff!" noise and jolted upright, finding herself looking down into the deceptively innocent face of a six-year-old girl.

"Hello, blond lady," Anya greeted her. "You look like you're the boss around here." Her voice was conversational. Buffy took this in suspiciously.

"I guess," Buffy said. "Why?"

Anya hoisted herself onto the bed and sat primly, Indian-style. "I have a request for you, blond bossy woman."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, a trick that had taken years to perfect, and waited.

"Please tell the others to give me their money," Anya said.

Buffy tried hard not to laugh. Her lip twitched. "Anya, this is a free country. No one has to give you money if they don't want to."

"I'll make them want to!" Anya said. Which was how, three hours later, Buffy found herself sitting in a lawn chair holding a sign that said, "Lemonade. $3.00 a glass."

* * *

"Anya," Dawn said gently for what seemed like the millionth time, "no one will buy lemonade at three dollars a glass."

Anya looked puzzled. "Why not?"

Dawn sighed loudly. Now she understood some of Buffy's aggravation. It was hard to be the big sister. "Because lemonade isn't worth three dollars a glass."

Anya looked confused. "Who says? Is there a lemonade law?"

"Well, no," Dawn began, "but you'll never—"

"Then it's okay!" Anya said. "_I_ say the lemonade is worth three dollars, and so it is. Because I said so."

Dawn gave up and returned to the house to do homework. Anya surveyed her business and the surrounding vicinity, her eyes falling on a girl around ten years old walking her dog. "A customer!" she said happily, poking a bored Buffy in the ribs. "Look lively."

Buffy sat up a little straighter.

"Oh, please!" Anya said. "No one wants to buy lemonade from a sleeping person." She took the sign and began a sort of cheer/dance that went something like:

"Lemonade, just three dollars a cup!

Oh, this lemonade will fill you up!

Made from lemons and lots of sugar—"

Anya couldn't finish because the only word she could think of that rhymed with _sugar_ was _booger_, and boogers did not make sales.

But nevertheless, the girl and her dog were walking over. "Hello!" Anya beamed. "I'm selling lemonade. Would you like some?"

"Sure," the girl said, pulling out a quarter and plunking it on the table. Anya's eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained. "Please read the sign," she chirped. "Our lemonade is not worth a quarter."

Buffy would never forget the look on the girl's face as she read the sign. "That's way too expensive!" she cried, snatching back her quarter and waling away. The dog whined and tugged at its leash, and was yanked away for all its protests.

"It's people like you that make other people lose their jobs!" Anya yelled after her, her pigtails bouncing indignantly.

Buffy sighed and got up. "Come on, Anya. No one is going to buy three-dollar lemonade. Either lower the price or come inside."

"Never!" Anya yelled dramatically.

It was going to be a looooooong day.

* * *

TBC…next, the aftermath of Anya's lemonade stand, research, and the beauty of capitalism.

This is my favorite chapter so far! =)

mistymidnight


	5. The Aftermath

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Around the time of season seven's "Selfless".

**Summary: **Anya all the way!

**Author's Notes: **The newest installment in th saga of Anya's kindergarten views on capitalism, sex, and rabbits.

I decided to update because at CCS it's SAVE A FIC WEEK!!!

Also, some of the events in this chapter weer inspired by ReganX's review and polished by John. Yes, who is taller than me. He won't let me forget it. That or the freaky eyebrow. Don't ask. I bet he forgot about it anyway...Shh...

Anyhow, this is a short chapter, but a chapter nonetheless.

**The Aftermath**

"Faster!" Anya wailed. "I want get there before it closes!"

"Anya, I'm driving as fast as is legally possible," Xander said. "And besides, the mall doesn't close until ten anyway. You've got a good five hours left."

Anya sulked for a fraction of a second, but was distracted by the shiny pink purse that had once been Dawn's. It was full of money--thirty-four dollars and seventy-three cents.

It hadn't been too hard to sell lemonade. Customers came by the crowds during her "First Glass Free!" campaign.

Every single one of them had bought at least one glass of lemonade. For some reason, they were all uncontrollably thirsty. Anya made sure to hide the salt shaker well.

It just would not be good for business if her customers knew she put salt in their free glass of lemonade. She was pretty sure some of them were onto her, though. It was hard to keep the right flavor of lemonade and use enough salt to make people more thirsty at the same time.

She wouldn't have left the stand at all, but Buffy was sick and tired of sitting with the sign. Xander had finally given Anya another ten dollars to get her to "close up" for the day. It had taken that and the promise of a mall trip to pry Anya away from her pride and joy.

They finally reached the mall. Unfortunately, Anya realized she needed to use the bathroom the _second _they walked in. After handing off her purse to Xander and instructing him to wait by the escalator, Anya went off to the womens' restroom.

* * *

"Xander!" Anya called, waliing from the bathroom. "Xander, I'm ready to buy things!" She got no response. Searching the food court, she called, "Xander? XANDER?"

She couldn't find him anywhere. Oh, well. Less whining while she shopped--

Panic hit Anya like a fist in the stomach. Xander had her money! And if Xander was lost, that meant that all Anya's hard-earned cash was gone as well!

"XANDER!!" she screamed hysterically. Some shoppers turned t stare at her. "XANDER!!"

"Anya?" Anya felt relief flood her body. Her money...er...Xander was okay. He wasn't lost like she'd thought.

"Yay!" she squealed delightedly. As soon as Xander was within arm's reach, she grabbed her purse. "I thought I'd lost you!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried!"

Xander was a little flattered...until he realized that his six-year-old ex was talking to her purse, along with the money inside, undoubtedly.

"C'mon, An," he said dully, "let's shop."

* * *

I loved the ideas for Anya's salty sales, and the Anya-panicking-because-she-can't-find-Xander-and-he-has-her-money idea was one I've wanted to use for awhile.

More to come!

mistymidnight


	6. A Bunny is the Source of All Evil

Title: Haven't Changed A Bit

Author: mistymidnight

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Spoilers/Timeline: Around the time of season seven's "Selfless".

Summary: Anya all the way!

Author's Notes: I was in the mood to update, and I wanted to do something happy. Not that "Fully Qualified" isn't happy, I'm just in the middle of a _plot_, heaven forbid. I felt like doing something more plotless. Somewhat. I'm sure this will make some people happy, other angry, and most indifferent. And women vote indirect. (Sorry. Too much of the "Our Town" rehearsals. Anyone who's seen or been in the play probably knows to which scene the previous sentences refer to. You know, Editor Webb's monologue? Right after Professor Willard's? First act? Oh, you people are hopeless.)

I apologize for any spelling/grammar/capitalization mistakes in this chapter. (And the whole fic, actually.)

A Bunny is the Source of All Evil

"I want to see the gerbils!" Anya squeaked. "Gerbils breed easily. I can make a lot of money with gerbils."

Xander said without thinking, "Rabbits breed more--"

"Nooo-ooo!" Anya shrieked. A woman with gray hair gave Xander a look. "Please try to control your daughter."

"She's not my daughter," Xander answered back, again without thinking. "She's my ex girlfriend...uh, my ex girlfriend's sister."

The woman sniffed and walked away.

"Do you like money?" Anya called after her, only to be ignored. Xander decided it was best to take action before Anya began to quiz the woman on her sex life. "An," he said quickly, "hamsters breed well, too, don't they?"

"Yes," Anya beamed. She loved this conversation. It was her two favorite subjects--money and sex--rolled into one handy moment. "Hamsters are good. But gerbils are better."

"Why's that?"  
Anya's expression darkened. "They just are," she said at last, and yanked Xander in the direction of the pet store.

* * *

"I cannot believe you'd keep those...those...those _things_ in here!" Anya screeched at the woman behind the counter. "I'm going to take my money elsewhere!"

"They're just rabbits, sweetie. I don't see--"

"They're horrible! Am I the only one they haven't fooled with their hippity-hopping down the bunny trail? They're not cute! They're _bad!_"

"An, honey," Xander said, trying hard to be calm, cool, and collected, "why don't we go? Like, now." He picked Anya up, trying hard not to get hit in the face by her flailing limbs.

"They'll get you!" Anya shrieked as they left. "They'll get you in your sleep!"

Xander wondered when Anya had first become afraid of rabbits. It had to be something. _Gonna ask her that later._

Anya calmed down when they were about halfway across the parking lot. "Put me down," she ordered. "I can walk on my own."

"Okay," Xander agreed reluctantly, placing the six-year-old on the pavement. She smoothed her shirt and began to walk alongside him, swinging her purse. "I didn't spend any money," she said, rather gloomily.

"Well," Xander said, trying to cheer her up, "you could always invest it. Or buy a stock or something."

"Yes! Stocks!" Anya exclaimed. "Thank you!"

Xander frowned. _Hope this doesn't come back to haunt me._

* * *

mistymidnight


	7. Balloons, Bunnies, and Other Stuff

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Around the time of season seven's "Selfless".

**Summary: **Anya all the way!

**Author's Notes: **Taking a break from the bazillion other things I _should _be doing to do the only thing I really feel like doing.

Side note: I've been perusing Fanfiction dot Net for the past couple days while the uploading options have been disabled, and I've come across an amazing amount of BAD FIC. Okay, so maybe not an amazing amount. There were just a couple stories so far that were horrible to the extreme. I'm talking super-bad. I mean, I knew it existed, but I never knew how awful it truly was…

Anyhoo, that's off topic.

Response to reviewers:

Dawn-Roberts: In regards to your question about Our Town: I'm Stage Manager. The kind that delivers monologues, not the kind that runs the backstage crew and stuff. Actually, there's four people playing the role of Stage Manager. Sometimes we say lines individually and sometimes we say them in unison. It's really cool sounding. And relatively freaky. And hey, congrats on being Emily!

Gidgetgirl: Thanks for the compliments. They made me mucho happy!

Regan X: Anya being the youngest self-made millionaire? Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Freezyboncoolipants: Thanks for the compliment. (I try, I try…LOL.) Hopefully this will be another great update…

**Bunnies, Balloons, and…Other Stuff**

"She didn't buy anything?" Buffy demanded, using her full five feet, three inches to stare Xander down. "Now how are we supposed to occupy her?"

"I think you're misplacing the blame here," Xander said. "In my defense, I tried to get her to buy hamsters."

"I wanted gerbils!" Anya shouted from the other room.

Buffy gave Xander an exasperated look. "Well, there you go. She wanted gerbils."

"It wasn't the hamster/gerbil thing that scared her off," Xander explained. "It was the—" he lowered his voice "—bunnies." He cringed, waiting for the reply from the eavesdropping six-year-old-ex-demon. He didn't have to wait long.

"BUNNIES!!!" Anya wailed. "They're evil! They'll kill us all!"

Buffy glanced toward the other room. "Let's hope no one's done any of those 'will be done' spells lately."

Xander nodded. "Did you ever wonder why she hates—_rabbits_—so much?"

"I used to," Buffy replied easily, moving toward the sink and turning on the water. "But then," she continued, beginning to wash the dishes, "I figured it all out."

"Really?" Xander was fascinated. In all the years he and Anya had dated, he had never had the slightest idea as to why rabbits struck fear into her ex-demon heart. And here was Buffy, with a theory. "What do you think it is?"

"As far as I'm concerned," she told him, "there's only one reasonable explanation. Have you ever seen that movie—?"

She was cut off by Dawn yelling, "No, Anya, come back! There's no bunnies anywhere! I swear!"

Buffy and Xander exchanged quick glances before heading for the living room. They arrived just in time to watch Dawn tackle Anya to prevent her from going outside.

"What's going on here?" Buffy demanded.

"Anya's convinced herself there's a bun—a B-U-N-N-Y around every corner," Dawn said cautiously.

"She's traumatized," Xander muttered to Buffy.

"Why couldn't she just be scared of the dark like a normal kid?" Buffy sighed. "Or needles or something? I'd settle for needles."

"Because that would be too easy," Dawn put in dryly, dusting herself off and leaning against the front door to block Anya's would-be escape route.

"I seem to recall a six-year-old that was absolutely terrified of balloons," Buffy said pointedly.

"Okay, if you'd had the experiences I'd had with balloons, _you'd_ be terrified of them, too," Dawn said defensively, before adding, "hospital-hater."

Anya's attention was captured. "Why did you hate balloons?" she asked, fascinated.

"Oh—no reason," Dawn said, embarrassed.

"You said had _experiences_," Anya persisted, not willing to let the topic drop.

Buffy was amused. "Tell her, Dawn."

Dawn sighed, then said in one breath, "Mom-and-Dad-got-me-a-balloon-and-I-named-it-Bluey-and-I-tried-to-kiss-it-goodnight-but-I-hit-it-with-my-teeth-and-it-popped-in-my-face."

Buffy snorted. Xander looked rather surprised. Anya laughed and clapped her hands.

"That's funny," she said.

Willow came downstairs and asked, "What's funny?"

"Dawn's scared of balloons," Anya said, bringing Willow up to speed. "She tried to kiss her balloon goodnight this one time and it popped in her face."

"And scabbed my nose," Dawn added.

"Uh, okay," Willow said.

"What's up, Will?" Buffy asked. "Got a counter-spell for Anya?"

"I don't wanna be countered!" Anya wailed for no reason. But, hey, she was six. It was her prerogative.

Buffy and Willow ignored her. Willow continued, "I think I might have a name in connection to it, though. You said she wished for this?"

"Sort of," Buffy said. "She wished to be 'the way she was before' or something like that."

"So whoever granted her wish really skewered it."

"I'll say."

"So, I've been researching vengeance demons," Willow said.

"Well, you can rule two off right off the bat," Dawn said. "Halfrek and Anya herself."

"Hallie?" Anya asked. "Who's Hallie?"

Dawn sighed. "At least she doesn't remember Hallie right now," she remarked. "I'm not so good at dealing with six-year-old tragedies."

Anya shrugged and went back to the living room couch to search for change in the cushions.

Willow went on with her explanation. "I found a few likely culprits. This one—" she pointed to a picture in the book she held in her hand "—specializes in spells for those that feel they've had something wrongly taken from them."

"Isn't that what all vengeance demons do, when it all comes down to it?"

Willow frowned. "I guess."

"How about rivals?" Buffy asked. "Someone who grants vengeance to _men_ that have been wronged, maybe?"

"That's so clichéd, it just might work."

"Really?"

"I guess. I'll keep it in mind, anyway."

Buffy thought for a second. "Okay, research wronged men—no, wait. A demon that specializes in wronged men wouldn't be able to grant Anya's wish. I mean, she's, well, female." Both Willow and Buffy glanced at Xander.

"She's female," he confirmed. "And I'm getting disturbing thoughts."

"Okay," Buffy said, "then let's look at demons that just grant vengeance wishes in general. Any demon that Anya's had any kind of disagreement with—ever—is a suspect."

"Got it," Willow said, nodding.

"In the meantime," Buffy said, "someone needs to baby sit Anya. And we need to find her a place to sleep."

"Yeah," Dawn put in. "I am _so_ not sharing my room with her again."

"I am not sleeping here alone!" Anya screamed. "Rabbits!"

Buffy sighed. "We'll work something out. I hope."

* * *

Yay! I updated! I should get a plaque of some kind.

The balloon-popping thing actually happened to me when I was three or so. Honestly.

Ooh! Side note! I can make my page dividors pretty colors now! (The one above should be a rosy pink color.) Coolness!

mistymidnight


	8. Ah, the Exposition

**Title: **Haven't Changed A Bit

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Around the time of season seven's "Selfless".

**Summary: **Anya all the way!

**Author's Notes: **Okay, I am, at last, back with an update, for which you can thank Slayer87, who reviewed and asked me to continue updating this story, which warmed my Grinchy heart to its very core. Okay, maybe not to its _very_ core, but it made me happy. So, ladies and gents, I give you a chapter born out of my happiness. I promise the chapter won't be as flowery and overwritten as this author's note.

Also, I apologize to any Dutch-speakers—I'm afraid I don't speak Dutch, and translation sites only help so much. If the spell Willow says in Dutch is completely wrong, I apologize.

**Ah, the Exposition**

After Anya had been tucked in bed, Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Dawn sat down around the dining room table to decide on the best course of action.

"We have no idea how long she'll be like this," Buffy remarked. "Should we maybe hire a babysitter or something?"

"Yeah, and no one at all will wonder where the kid suddenly came from," Dawn replied sarcastically.

"We can say she's…our cousin," Buffy suggested.

"Okay," Willow interrupted, "before we concentrate on getting someone to babysit Anya, let's concentrate on getting her back to normal so she won't need to be babysat." She held up an old book that she'd been looking through. "Now, this supposedly lists all the vengeance demons known to exist in the dimension. Of course, it'll take forever to go through the entire book."

"Is there a spell you can do to make this go faster, Will?" Xander asked.

"Well, there's this spell I know of that's similar to an Internet search engine, in a way. After you cast the spell on the book, you say a key word or phrase, and the spell will search for that word or phrase through the whole book. When it finds what it's looking for, it will make the text there glow. I figure we can search the book for 'Anyanka', and see if any of the other demons' historical blurbs mention them holding a grudge against Anya."

"Okay, then, Will," Buffy said. "Go for it."

Willow pulled another old book toward herself and flipped to the page she needed. "Okay," she said. "Here goes nothing:

_"Vind wat wordt verloren._

_Geef me antwoorden."_

She paused, then looked at the vengeance demon book and said, "Anyanka."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the dining room, causing the pages of the book to turn wildly. After a moment, the wind died down, and the pages flipped to the first page where Anyanka was mentioned. The entire page glowed at first, but then faded so that only the word "Anyanka" was highlighted.

"That's one handy spell you've got there, Will," Buffy remarked, before saying, "All right, everyone, let's get to work."

* * *

Three hours later, none of them had found anything helpful. It was late, and everyone, especially Xander, was exhausted after a day of mini-Anya. Everyone was pretty much ready to give up when Willow suddenly shouted, "I've got it!"

Dawn, who had been dozing off, awoke with a start and nearly fell right off her chair.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, leaning over to read.

"It says here," Willow began, "that Anya wasn't the only one from her village to be made into a vengeance demon back in the day. Another woman, Rannveig, was made a vengeance demon not long after. This book refers to her dislike for another woman in the village, Audhild, also known as Aud."

"Wait," Buffy said. "How do we know that's Anya?"

"Because," Willow continued, "I read the historical blurb for Anyanka first. It appears Anya's gone by many names over the years—Aud, Anyanka, Anya, and even Var, which is a Norse name that means 'punishes adulterers'."

"Okay, so this Ran-wig or whatever her name is—why does she dislike Anya?"

"Apparently, she was going to run off with Anya's husband. Only Anya turned him into a troll before they could go. And Anya didn't get a chance to punish Rannveig, because of the vengeance demon gig she got offered. She was moving on to bigger and better things, and that made Rannveig angry. I guess she figured it's one thing to turn her lover into a troll, but to then be rewarded for it…"

"Okay," Dawn said, becoming interested. "What happened then?"

"Well, Rannveig practiced a little magic of her own. It was she who put Olaf's essence into that crystal that was in the Magic Box. But she wasn't exactly Little Miss Dark Magic. She had to practically beg D'Hoffryn for a vengeance demon job. He finally got sick of her asking and gave her one."

"But why didn't D'Hoffryn just kill her, if she irritated him so much?" Buffy asked.

"Got me," Willow replied. "Anyway, Rannveig was given the name Syn, which, in Norse, means 'invoked during trials'. She punished unfair competitors."

Dawn scrunched her eyebrows. "So, you mean, if someone cheated in a race or a contest or something and made you lose, you could call her and she'd punish them?"

"Pretty much," Willow nodded. "Only, they wouldn't actually have to cheat; you'd just have to _believe _that they had. Like, with Anya, women who'd been dumped fair and square would only have to _believe _they'd really been wronged, and Anya would grant their wishes."

"So this demon could grant Anya's wish 'cause Anya _has_ a competitor, and that's Syn?" Xander asked. "But Anya wasn't making a wish against her competitor. She just wanted Hallie back."

Willow jumped in with an explanation. "No, see, in this case, Anya saw D'Hoffryn as her competitor, in a way. She was working against his wishes, correct? That put them at odds. And he wanted Hallie dead. Anya saw him as cheating her of Hallie's friendship, or, at the very least, her prescence."

"Seems like a stretch to me," Buffy remarked.

"It is," Willow replied, "but it was all Syn needed to grant Anya's wish. She's willing to do anything to make Anya suffer like Syn herself suffered."

"But Anya doesn't seem to be suffering," Buffy said. "In fact, if anything, Syn's _helped_ her. Anya doesn't even remember Hallie, which means she's not wallowing in her own grief."

"True," Willow said.

Dawn suddenly stood up. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked.

Everyone was quiet, listening. Then, they heard an unmistakable voice yell, "No! Leave me alone! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Anya!" Xander cried. The entire group jumped up from the table and raced upstairs to Dawn's room, where Anya had been put for the night. Buffy flung the door open and stared at the empty room…and the open window.

Anya was gone.

* * *

Nice cliffhanger, eh? (evil grin.)

Audhild, Var, and Syn are real Norse names. Var and Syn really do mean "punishes adulterers" and "invoked during trials", respectively, and "Audhild" means "strong warrior woman". (I only used "Audhild" because it seemed logical, seeing as Anya's name was Aud and all.)

Reviews welcome, as always.

mistymidnight


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